by stuckinarut2 8 Replies latest watchtower bible
I have just had the opportunity to read a hard copy of the Awake no3 2018 entitled "Help for those who grieve"
WTF?
It really is appalling in its glaring omission of any recommendation to see a professional Grief Counselor!
They list 12 points...BUT nowhere in the whole magazine is there any direction to seek trained help.
This is just an awful insight into the insular world of JWs who are trained to not trust any outside help...which sets them up for serious life problems...
I remember turning to those articles in times of need only to find them sorely lacking in any real advice or guidance. Knowing that the religion I had grown up counting on, had noting to offer, only added to the grief I was already suffering. Sometimes it's better to have no hope or expectations rather than to find out in your time of need that ones you thought you had, are false.
I read through the article and I share your thoughts stuckinarut2. Some of their advice is great, take time for yourself, make sure you're eating and sleeping right, keep in contact with family and friends who support you, that kind of practical stuff people forget when they're going through something awful. But in twelve steps there's no mention of seeking professional help, exactly. Why?
I'm guessing it's because counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, whomever, can easily see the emotional damage Jehovah's Witnesses as an organization does to individual members (often, not always, and not just emotional damage, you know everybody likes socializing before the meeting, but emotional damage nonetheless). By that I mean making them live in fear of Armageddon or someone snitching on them to the elders They might even explain this to their Witness patient in terms they'll understand, helping them see things they normally wouldn't because they lack the education to read complicated psychology texts for themselves. Elitist? Yep. True? Also yep.
Because the Governing Body claims to speak with authority on human life and living in it's every imaginable facet, from how you dress to what you say to what you do in public or in private, any competing source of information presents a threat to the movement's leadership, who strives to maintain 'loyalty in thought' among Jehovah's Witnesses. I'm thinking of that recent Watchtower Study Edition article that told Jehovah's Witnesses to get their news from JW Broadcasting and jw.org, and to avoid sites like this one that 'apostates' use or even just news sites that cast the organization in an unflattering light.
The Governing Body claims to provide Jehovah's Witnesses with 'the best way of life.' But trained professionals can show Jehovah's Witnesses a better way of life, one of personal fulfillment and individual goals. And they want to avoid that at all costs, they lose enough members these days and enough money.
WT doesn't want anyone to look outside the box. No therapist's or educators. Their afraid they will tell their members that they are in a cult full of BS.
''WT doesn't want anyone to look outside the box. No therapist's or educators. Their afraid they will tell their members that they are in a cult full of BS''
Some of the books which recently I have been reading by Steven Hassan and Irvin Yalom confirm this. These are professionals who have researched and are educated.
Hate to put it this way, but some Dubs have come out and said ''no, they weren't going nuts''. After reading books by Steven Hassan. Its the drudgery, high expectations, behavior control, information control, thought control and emotional control.
One youtuber, stoptheshunning put it this way ''no I wasn't going nuts'', its what the Borg does to you by the B.I.T.E. model, controlling almost every aspect of someones life.
I know that at a local level you will be discouraged from seeing a worldly counsellor or therapist.
But the Org has in the past suggested using professional help to deal with problems. There was an Awake! in 2014 about suicide which did suggest using outside help.
Point No. 2 in https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102014131
'Even so, there are some basic guidelines that have proved practical for many. They are frequently cited by grief counselors, and they echo timeless principles found in an ancient book of wisdom, the Bible.'
They mention grief counsellors but then don't recommend you see one. Instead they take it upon themselves to distill the advice given by the experts and tag on a scripture with it.
I can't decide if it's arrogance, they know better than the experts or fear that JWs getting professional help will find out that the real world isn't so bad, there are compassionate people out there. It's probably both!
You mean going out in service more doesn't help??
